1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to food preparation and delivery generally, and more particularly to an improved apparatus and method for recording diner preferences, correlating those preferences with available options, and generating control signals, events and actions important in food selection, preparation, and delivery. The apparatus most preferably includes further means to enable or enhance selection, preparation and delivery in cooperation with the generation of control signals, events and actions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Each and every person around the planet, through a multitude of conscious and sub-conscious steps, seeks desired dining experiences several times each day. In spite of the staggering billions of hours each day that are put into dining, the art of food preparation and delivery is quite fragmented, labor intensive, and inconsistent. Furthermore, there is a general lack of attention to the senses, other than taste, in typical food service establishments.
As a first step in pursuing a desired dining experience, each person must first determine what type of food or method of preparation will be most preferable for the particular meal. Particular food types, methods of preparation and national origins are well-defined and quite consciously selected, and meal planning is most frequently focussed here. As an example, the discussion may be whether to have steak or Chinese food.
Atmosphere, on the other hand, is not so clearly delineated. Atmosphere is almost always decided upon only by the selection of one dining location over another, without conscious evaluation of any specific factors desired. Yet a multitude of factors comprise an atmosphere, sometimes also referred to as "mood", and include such things as sounds, sights, colors, smells, textures and feeling. In fact, though dependent upon the individual to some degree, all of a person's senses are involved in the atmosphere, though only a few are normally evaluated consciously. Moreover, only a few dining establishments attempt to address the atmosphere in a coherent way.
Finally, associated costs will be factored in with food type and atmosphere. Every person has limits on how much they are willing to spend at any given moment for a particular dining experience. That amount is considered in conjunction with the food type and atmosphere, and can not be ignored.
Once food type, cost and atmosphere are determined, the individual will then attempt to achieve the dining experience. This may be done by patronizing a restaurant or other dining establishment, or, alternatively, the food may be prepared by the individual or someone close to the individual. In the case of self-creation and preparation, supplies are generally purchased in advance from several different retail stores. The number of stores visited during the purchase process is determined by the complexity of the atmosphere and menu selected, but in many instances a more fulfilling dining experience requires visiting two or more diverse retail locations. Between planning for the meal, purchasing supplies and then preparing everything required, self-preparation of more than a basic meal can be quite labor intensive. Unfortunately, in addition to being labor intensive, it is almost a certainty that the individual will fail to fully achieve the desired affect.
As an example, many people have, at one time or another, burned an entree. Not only does the single entree need disposed of, the aroma must also be taken care of effectively or the smell will undesirably detract from the dining experience. However, eliminating the aroma of the burned entree is a task which is often not achievable in the limited time period available close to serving the meal, nor is a home kitchen designed to isolate the cooking aromas from the dining area. The individual has now not only consumed an enormous amount of time and effort, but may also be terribly frenzied and unable to fulfill the remainder of the objectives effectively. Unfortunately then, for self-preparation of any but the most basic of meals, exceptional cooking skills and poise are required to succeed. In addition, the individual will also have to be skilled in decorating, arrangement of music or other sounds, and other skills needed to address the many subconscious factors involved in a dining experience. There are very few people who, by themselves, are capable of preparing and delivering an exceptional dining experience, and even fewer willing to undergo the pressures and effort necessary to do so. Nor are there any tools available to assist them, other than supplies fragmented throughout diverse retail stores.
To reduce the risk of failure, or to simply reduce the burden associated with delivery of a particular dining experience, most frequently a person will instead patronize a particular food establishment. As aforementioned, the food establishment is selected from a multitude of restaurants based upon food selection and type or national origin, the atmosphere within the establishment, and the cost associated therewith. Most dining establishments recognize the importance of food types in generating a satisfying dining experience. Within the same dining establishment, there is often more than one food type available. By slightly expanding the menu, a dining establishment is able to satisfy food preferences of each individual within a larger group, even though not everyone in the group would have selected the food type that is the particular specialty of the dining establishment.
Though often not consciously understood, the cost or perceived value of a dining establishment's food is often related to the availability of the atmosphere associated with the restaurant. For example, fast food establishments may be filled with hustle and bustle, including many diverse sights, sounds and smells during the prime meal times. This atmosphere is one option available to a prospective patron. It is not normally carefully controlled, and presents a random environment that can be quite stimulating at times, relatively plain and boring at other times, and at yet other times completely frustrating. Absent any further controls or design, this atmosphere is relatively commonplace, being available at many places of work and at many diverse retail establishments and outlets. As a result of how common the atmosphere is, this particular atmosphere does not normally command any economic advantage to the owner of the establishment, even though at times it will be the preferred atmosphere of patrons.
Where a more carefully controlled environment is desired by the patrons, and more particularly a less commonplace atmosphere, fast food and similar restaurants will likely be eliminated from the selection list. By considering each of the available remaining options with respect to food, cost and atmosphere, a person will eventually choose one or several suitable, available dining establishments. The dining establishment may be exactly what the person is seeking, or may alternatively be a "best fit", which is tolerable at the time.
There are a number of disadvantages to this common method of selection of a dining establishment. First and foremost, the patron now has expectations regarding the food type, cost and atmosphere associated with the particular establishment. The establishment must therefore work diligently to maintain a consistent food quality and menu selection, work force, cost and atmosphere. The degree of success achieved by the establishment will directly impact the success or failure of the establishment. For example, particularly on a first visit, patrons will judge the restaurant most harshly, and may be biased for a long period thereafter. Yet, it is at the opening that the restaurant is most vulnerable, since employees may not have developed experience with their co-workers and with the goals of the establishment, and patrons may not accurately understand the desired atmosphere. One set of patrons may expect a quiet atmosphere, while another set may wish to include all of their family members, and may bring with a particularly noisy or unruly youngster or infant. With a more experienced employee base, the establishment will help the patrons with the youngster, and will have developed a skill set for doing so. Additionally, they may further have developed a way or set of skills to appease the remaining patrons. In this way, once the employees' skills are developed, the restaurant can better maintain a desired atmosphere. Nevertheless, and as aforementioned, this requires a highly skilled base of employees and represents an enormous managerial burden.
Because of the managerial burden, which is present during every minute the dining establishment is open, there are also few dining establishment proprietors who are willing and able to make the sacrifices necessary to maintain consistent dining experience. This in turn reduces the number of establishments that are successful and therefore available to choose from. To better understand the scope of the issue, recognize that the proprietor must determine, even prior to going into business, exactly what that atmosphere will be, and then develop it in every way. This includes a comprehensive package of advertising, restaurant location, construction and decoration, employee training and so on to support that atmosphere. Moreover, to maintain that atmosphere, the proprietor in many cases must spend countless hours supervising and monitoring to ensure that everything stays as envisioned by the proprietor. In the event the proprietor inaccurately assessed the marketplace, the restaurant will still fail, and there is little if any opportunity for the restaurant owner to salvage investment. As aforementioned then, in all but the most highly populated areas, there is a relatively limited selection of dining establishments and an even more limited choice of atmosphere available, and, unlike the expanded menu to offer more food types, there is no flexibility regarding the atmosphere within a given establishment.
Further compounding the already less than desirable circumstances surrounding dining, there are also many situations where there is not a choice available to the patron. For example, in many schools, dormitories, retirement centers, nursing homes, and many other locations that combine food and lodging, the patron has no choice but the food service provided for through a single cafeteria. While the cafeteria may truly attempt to maintain high quality food and provide a varying atmosphere, this will frequently be quite haphazard. When, for example, there is a small amount of surplus time, the employees might change the seasonal decoration to the coming holiday, or in honor of another special event to add variety to the atmosphere. Unfortunately, even in the best of mess halls and cafeterias, this is the most that can be expected for atmosphere.
Finally, and exasperated in part because of the many factors that affect a dining experience, the probability of a single establishment satisfying all diners decreases greatly as more people are added in the decision making process. Within a larger group of people, one dining establishment as heretofore known to those skilled in the art finds satisfying everyone's tastes and preferences for atmosphere extremely difficult or impossible. To best fulfill the expectations of a larger group, the dining experience is frequently reduced to a minimum of sensory input other than food type selection.
Since time immemorial, every person has had a requisite need for food. For nearly that time, there has been an awareness, at least on a subconscious level, of the desirability of combining more sensory inputs than taste into a dining experience. Nevertheless, there has not yet been developed a coherent method or apparatus which enables individuals and dining establishments to consciously select from diverse sensory inputs beyond food type and origin in the dining experience. These other sensory inputs have, in the past, been predetermined and fixed at the time of creation of the particular establishment, or been left to the skills and determination of an individual who would try to achieve a unique dining experience on their own.